Change

It was great to open a SLJ and to know what the technology articles were discussing and to UNDERSTAND it!Your eye skips what it does not understand and it was amazing to me to finally understand what the symbols were everywhere.
I took this course because I was in bed with a wrenched knee when our department was exploring developing web sites; I did not want anyone to have to do a one-on-one tutorial. I was able to do one entire section on the Quincy Literature Contest(with links )on our ‘almost ready’ site.
I know I will keep up my blog to share some of the innovative programs I’ve developed in the last 7 years; checking my blog statistics helped me decide this yesterday. I love del.icio.us and its tags; finally being able to download from flickr, after all the troubles with it, was most rewarding!
With the course work load and my job work load, there were some areas I could not fully develop/explore but plan to do it slowly & methodically this spring. If one waits too long, it will grow rusty. Thank you Kathy for all of your hard work, research, & organization. I did not feel that I could finish this without the sound of a human voice but I did!!! Yeah

http://www.youtube.com/watchv=J2ZS9RXBGdU&feature=related

Blackeyedsusans

gialloOriginally uploaded by marci2marci

susan

susan

Originally uploaded by jude

My beautiful namesake!

This picture was taken at my daughters’ wedding in September

Bulletin Boards

 Scrolling through site after site in this course, we have found many fun, disturbing, and enlightening ideas & sites we want to return to. One site had 1000’s of library/librarian paraphernalia that could brighten any day! A T shirt with candy hearts, creating one large heart, provided a jumping off point for bulletin boards for all 3 schools. A site that I had seen: http://www.abcschoolhouse.com/seasonal_pdfs/February_ideas.pdf, provided me with 6 candy heart models. Primary children all colored 1 heart with “READ” as their message & our composite READ heart allowed over 90 children to contribute to the board. I also had the NECCO site up on the computers, necco.com, to allow them to check out the 10 new candy heart slogans for 2008 and to take a virtual tour through the NECCO plant. Two tours include the production of conversation hearts & NECCO wafers. Virtual tours are the only tours NECCO provides. This course has taught me-and certainly not a goal in Kathy’s syllabus expectations!-that browsing is NEVER a loss of time…

From the Crow’s Nest

Although there are many non-fiction books on Chinese New Year, many times teachers want a great read for story hour. I have had Runaway Rice Cake by Ying Chang Compestine on display many years now, but this year it was a ‘runaway hit’ virtually by word of mouth. The Chang family has only enough rice flour for 1 nián-gäo/New Year’s rice cake but they want to make the best of their holiday treat. When Momma takes the cake from the steamer, it comes alive. Popping out of the pan, it rolls right out of their kitchen, crying, “Ai yo! I don’t think so!”, a perfect phrase for class participation. The chase is on! but that pastry eludes the family every step of the way. Eventually it runs smack into an hungry, old woman. The youngest son offers to share their nián-gäo but she consumes the entire rice cake, leaving nothing for the Changs. Their generous act, however, reaps them benefits they could never have imagined. Our sped class even recognized the similarities with The Gingerbread Boy.

Technorati

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Technology

I had an internet/reference books research assignment for 5th grade on Monday a.m. and for the 3rd time in a row (with these same students) I had problems. Twice, NO internet available at that hour and this time I had only 2 of 7 computers on-line. This is after the tech says ‘you’re all set’…Trying to balance real life with what we are learning is difficult at times. Many of the technologies we are being exposed to I can see in use at public libraries and in h.s./middle school. I believe that there is definitely a place for the blogs in elementary, but when they cannot keep us online it does make one pause.

For use in my school sites, one item that would make an impact for my 3 schools would be a discussion of the 40+ books on our Quincy Literature Contest List. Many 4th/5th grade parents have questions and many read these titles with their children; a forum on-line would be interesting not only for them but for parents whose children will be coming into  the contest. School newsletters generally come out 3 times a year and there is no feedback option.

In perusing many of the public library blogs I discovered some interesting tidbits-many had not been updated since 2004/2005. Did the person responsible move on to another job? Why is the site still listed? Checking into many of them, I discovered that many of their links had disappeared and went nowhere. Also websites listed for children were really only ‘for sale’ sites. If you post a site for your patrons, should you also not try to follow it through before posting?

Tufts Library in Weymouth had teens do their blog with their own insights/own language/own uploaded photos. They appear to be very active in working WITH the library-nice touch.

Newton Public Library had a blog where different librarians posted new book reviews in a more casual style and not formal reviewing. One stated that it was one of the best books she had ever read; comments from patrons were allowed and one patron ripped apart the book and review. You do put yourself ‘out there’.

I had to laugh when I read class responses say “I COULD have gotten lost on del.icio.us” because I DID get lost on del.icio.us for 2 days this weekend. One link kept linking to another and I was one lost puppy …’delicously’ so.

I had no luck uploading a photo to my site from Flickr; it kept stating that the ending was wrong even though I typed in exactly what it said. Just realized also,a post I made about Miss Daisy’s photo never made it up on her site. This really gets pretty frustrating when nothing seems to be working correctly! Help~Susan

About Me

I am Susan Riley and am currently a children’s librarian in Quincy with THREE (3), yes  3 libraries…I began this career at the age of 14 in Richmond VA running a woman’s library for the summer of 1957. My undergrad work at Madison College (now university!) was in school libraries and I received my MLS from Simmons. I was a children’s librarian in Fairfax Co for 4 years & in Quincy from 1970 on. During prop 2 1/2, my QPS job was eliminated and I spent 20 years at Quincy College & Quincy College Plymouth; I also taught the children’s lit course in Plymouth for 10 years. Returning to the city in 2001, I again faced the worse layoffs since ‘81; my h.s. job was eliminated and I returned to my elementary roots. Literature has always been my life; I also quilt with the same passion.

This course is a learning curve for me, but swore as a teen that I would not let myself become a ‘fuddy duddy’.

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